L A C OMUNICACIÓN I NSTITUCIONAL Y E MPRESARIAL

This discussion ties in with the previous discussions in this chapter about adding modules to the national tourism curriculum. It has been suggested by respondents that the programme must be expanded to at least two years to possibly incorporate some of the suggestions made by respondents.

In the past, Boland College added an advanced certificate (unofficially known as N7) to the national tourism curriculum (N4 – N6 certificates) and offered it as a two year programme incorporating the following modules:

 Advanced Computers (E-mail, Internet, Access)

 Advanced Destinations

 Eco Tourism

 Entrepreneurship / Tour Operating

 Event Management

 Fares and Ticketing (Advanced)

 Fidelio

 First Aid

 German or French

 Guest House Management

 Labour Law

 Wine Course

Graduates and lecturers referred to this certificate programme during the interviews. Boland College no longer offers the N7 programme due to funding restrictions as mentioned

124 previously. Lecturers and graduates were asked their opinion about the N7 modules and the value to students who need to find employment in a very competitive labour market. These were some of their responses:

“Ons kort baie meer as net hierdie 4 vakke wat ons tans aanbied per semester. Hulle moet verder kan gaan – hulle kort bietjie Entrepreneurskap, bietjie van alles moet hulle by doen. Ek voel ons is nou so rigied in een rigting en ek dink daar buite in die mark is daar baie studente wat meer het as ons studente. Ons studente het ‘n agterstand – hulle staan agter in die tou want hulle het nie dit wat die ander het nie.” (L1) (We need a lot more than the four core subjects that we currently offering per

semester. They must be able to go further – they need some Entrepreneurship training, a bit of everything. I feel we are so rigid in one area and there are students that have a lot more than our students. Our students are at a disadvantage – they stand at the back of the line.)

The importance of adding an additional language to the programme was also mentioned:

“Students must be bilingual - some of them struggle. If you have a third language, even better. The guest experience is just so much better if students can assist for example a guest that speaks German, in German.” (E9)

“Ek dis baie belangrik om ‘n taal deel van die kursus te maak – meeste van ons toeriste is van Duitsland of Nederland. So dit sal baie help om Duits te doen.” (G8) (I think it is important to make a

language part of the course – most of our tourists are from Germany or the Netherlands. So it will help a lot to do German.)

For Tour Guides a formal qualification plus registration with the relevant authority (e.g. Western Cape Government) and Professional Drivers Permit is required:

“Die probleem is dat die studente nie PDP’s en of Toergids kwalifikasies het nie – dus kan ons hulle nie gebruik nie. Ons benodig mense wat gekwalifiseerd is en julle studente het nie daardie kwalifikasies wat ons benodig nie. Dit beperk hulle nogal. Waar gebruik ek hulle? Dit sou vir ons baie help as die ouens al meer prakties opgelei is sodat hulle kan begin werk. In my veld kan hulle nie begin werk nie want hulle het nog nie die kwalifikasies nie.” (E15) (The problem is that students do not

have a PDP or a Tour Guide qualification – we cannot use them. We need people that are qualified and your students do not have the qualifications we need. That restricts them. How do I use them? It will help us a lot if students have been trained more in practice so that they can start working. In my field they cannot start working unless they are qualified.)

125 Event Management is usually a very popular module amongst students and many students want to work in the events sector. One tourism graduate phrased it as follows:

“Ja beslis, toe ek gaan prakties doen het in die hotel het die General Manager gesien ek wil werk. Toe ek in die “Events” departement was is ek nooit weer daar uit nie. Baie goed wat ek geleer het, het gehelp. Die beplannings ens. van events. Dit het my baie gehelp.” (G6) (Yes definitely, when I went to

do my practical the General Manager at the hotel saw that I wanted to work. When I went into the

Events department, I never left. Many things that I learnt helped. The planning etc. of events. It

helped me a lot.)

Even the subject Labour Law, which students usually find boring seems to have a place in the programme. The same graduate emphasised:

“Arbeidsreg ja, die agtergrond het gehelp om myself te verdedig. Die werkgewers vat kanse want hulle dink jy weet nie wat aangaan nie. So om daai goed te weet is baie belangrik.” (G6) (Labour Law yes,

the background helped me to defend myself. The employers take chances because they think you do not know what is going on. So to know that type of thing is important.)

To summarise, many respondents stated that the core national tourism curriculum (National Certificates N4 – N6 in Tourism) is not sufficient to equip students appropriately for employment. Additional courses will assist students in finding employment, as reiterated by one employer:

“Ek dink dit is baie belangrik om studente te help om ‘n rigting te kies, m.a.w. te spesialiseer. As dinge so wyd is, is dit baie moeilik. Mens moet hulle help. Ek het ‘n probleem met kursusse wat so wyd is. Hulle moet aan die einde van die kursus ge-“channel” word. As hulle die 18 maande kursus voltooi het en ‘n reisagent wil wees – doen Galileo. As hulle ‘n toergids wil wees, ‘n toergidskursus. Indien hulle ‘n bestuurder wil word in ‘n toerismeplek, doen ‘n bestuurskursus. Indien hulle ‘n entrepreneur wil word, ‘n kwalifikasie daarin. Hulle kan dus aan die einde van hulle kursus spesialiseer. Jy begin breed maar dan spesialiseer jy. Jy is gekwalifiseerd maar in wat ... so as mens hulle kan help in ‘n rigting sal dit great wees.” (E15) (I think it is very important to help students to choose an area of specialisation

in tourism. If there are so many options, it is difficult. One has to help them. I have a problem with courses that are so wide. They must be channeled at the end of the programme. When they have completed the 18 month course and want to be a travel agent, a Galileo course. If they want to become a manager of a tourism establishment, do a management course. If they want to be an entrepreneur, a

126

qualification in that. They can specialise at the end of their course. You start wide but then you specialise. You are qualified, but in what? So one can assist them to choose an area to specialise in.)

4.4 Conclusion

This chapter contains the findings of this study. The issues identified by respondents during interviews were grouped under the categories: knowledge, skills and attitudes. The issues were compared with what is included in the national tourism curriculum and verbatim responses used to illustrate important issues under each section. In conclusion, the findings linked to the different categories as utilised in this chapter are summarised in the next paragraphs.

Firstly, it seems clear from the findings of this study that additional knowledge, apart from what is currently included in the national tourism curriculum, is required by students before embarking on a career in the tourism industry. Sector specific knowledge is essential in order to make students more employable. Students must be able to apply the knowledge learnt in different practical environments, in other words in different establishments in the tourism industry.

Secondly, respondents have indicated clearly that students have too limited exposure to travel and this might have implications for their performance when starting a career in the tourism industry. Respondents also indicated that students need general life skills, including good communication skills. A key issue highlighted by respondents was the importance of computer skills as well as sector specific computer training. The current national tourism curriculum does not include any computer skills training.

Thirdly, various respondents commented on the ideal type of personality or disposition suited for a position in the tourism industry. It seems that a friendly, outgoing type of person is

127 more suitable. Respondents, especially employers, indicated that students must be able to think for themselves, have common sense and be pro-active. The findings indicated that some employers are frustrated with the fact that students lack initiative and wait for instructions. Good work ethics and the importance of punctuality were also identified by respondents as aspects that seem vital in the tourism industry.

Two issues that also emerged from the general responses were the need to update the curriculum in terms of duration as well as the need to improve the relevance of textbooks. The suggestion to expand the national tourism curriculum to two years by including additional modules was a recurrent theme and to update textbooks seems to be imperative. In the next chapter the conclusions and implications of this study will be discussed.

128

Chapter 5: Conclusions and Implications

In Chapter 4 respondent data were analysed and findings were discussed. In this chapter the conclusions and possible implications of this study will be highlighted.

This study aimed to answer the following research question: In which respects are the current national tourism curriculum aligned, or not aligned, with needs of the local tourism industry in Stellenbosch? What follow illustrate that this question was answered and supported by the findings of the study.